For last several years, the recruitment process for civil services in the State by the Odisha Public Services Commission (OPSC) has never been free from controversies.
While presently there are thousands of vacancies in different grades of State civil services with the Odisha Administrative Services (OAS) accounting for 400 alone, the uncertainty over final selection of aspirants under the latest 2011 Odisha Civil Services (OCS) Examinations is yet to be over.
The advertisement for the examinations was released in 2011 after a gap of five years, but due to different shortcomings and court cases, the process is yet to be over though three years have passed by now. While several cases pertaining to different discrepancies in the OCS preliminary examination, 2011 in the Odisha High Court slowed down the process, there are still several cases in which it is apprehended the court may declare the examination null and void. Of course, the OPSC under pressure has completed the OCS main examination but it has also been challenged in the High Court. Many apprehend that in the worst case, the court may cancel both the examinations and force the OPSC to be back to the square one.
Most of the cases have been filed by the aspirants who have challenged several illegalities of the OPSC in conducting the examinations. First of all, the age limit in the advertisement was challenged. Since the recruitment drive was undertaken after a gap of five years, the previous one having been held in 2006, many aspirants had crossed the age bar. As the OPSC was not able to conduct OCS examinations once every year unlike the UPSC, many demanded relaxation in the age limit and hence, challenged it in the High Court. After the court’s intervention, the OPSC again brought out a revised advertisement with due relaxation in age limit. This delayed the process for quite some time.
The row refusing to subside there, several persons challenged the reservation in the posts for different sections. Especially the OPSC keeping 27 per cent posts reserved for the SCBC was challenged in the court. Also the total reservation amounting to 65.75 per cent was also protested by many and it too went to the court. Adjudicating over the matter, the High Court and SAT directed the OPSC to limit the total reservation to maximum 50 per cent. When the OPSC made amends and finally conducted the preliminary examination, it was already delayed by two years.
However, after the preliminary examination was held, several aspirants knocked at the door of the High Court challenging faults in question papers and grace marks awarded by the OPSC to make up for them. While the issue was subjudice, considering the delays the High Court, upon a plea of the OPSC, allowed it through an interim order to hold the main examination. The main examination was held, but still nobody is sure if it would help holding the final interview and recruitment of the selected candidates. It is due to the fact that in the event the High Court finds merit in the case against the preliminary examination on faulty question setting and grace mark, it may cancel the preliminary examination, thus forcing the OPSC to start preliminary examination afresh.
Notably, the OPSC has not been able to conduct the civil services examinations hassle free because the commission itself is short of staff. The Government failed to fill in the vacancy of its members since long back. At times it was also seen that corruption charges were leveled against the Chairman of the OPSC in past for leaking question papers and favouritism. Similarly, there have been instances of lack of sync among the members and Chairman of the commission. As a result, the OPSC often cut a sorry figure while conducting examinations for various Government jobs, including the civil services. The 2000 and 2006 OCS examinations too were controversial resulting in much delay in the final recruitments.